Mount Morgan

Mount Morgan is a ~13,754’ peak in the John Muir Wilderness within the Inyo National Forest. It’s a Class 2 hike, but a long one. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the hike felt (at least the first half) despite being entirely above 9,000’.

Somewhere along the way you’ll end up in a small sandy area which seems perfect for camping (although there are no nearby water sources). Soon enough you’ll start heading up the sandy slope you see here, to an even larger sandy area.

As you work your way our of the sandy spot, you’ll catch your first glimpse of Mount Morgan. You’ll be heading straight towards it for a while. When the sand turns into small boulders, you’ll start to climb to a ridge.

Because you have no frame of reference, things here look closer than they are. Fortunately navigating the small boulders is pretty easy and you should still be able to follow an easy class 2 path to the ridgeline.

Once on the ridge, choose your path wisely. If you end up following the ridge too long towards the summit, you’ll soon find yourself on a slope of loose rocks.

Once you reach the false summit you’ll be at another flat spot. The true summit is visible from here. Once again, things look closer than they are but it’s not a long hike up to the true summit.

After we summited we took some quick photos (none that I really liked) and headed back down. By the time we got back down to the false summit it was already blue hour and I was pretty tired. We quietly and steadily made our way back to the trailhead in the dark.

Mount Morgan

Mission peak